A theoretical physicist has developed a method for calculating the motions and forces of thousands of atoms simultaneously over a wider range of time scales than previously possible. The method overcomes a longstanding timing gap in modeling nanometer-scale materials and many other physical, chemical and biological systems at atomic and molecular levels.
Selected by plish
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ScienceDaily: Engineering News
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Capturing Those In-between Moments: Timing Problem In Molecular Modeling Solved
7 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am -
Novel Cancer Detection Method Uses Tiny Silica Beads To Adhere To Cells
5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmA novel method of detection of cervical cancer cells has now been developed. The method uses nonspecific adhesion of silica beads to cells. -
Applause For The SmartHand: Human-machine Interface Is Essential Link In Groundbreaking Prosthetic Hand
5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 amProfessor Yosi Shacham-Diamand of Tel Aviv University's Department of Engineering, working with a team of European Union scientists, has successfully wired a state-of-the-art artificial hand to existing nerve endings in the stump of a severed arm. The device, called "SmartHand," resembles -- in function, sensitivity and appearance -- a real hand. -
Engineers Strive To Make Algae Oil Production More Feasible
4 Nov 2009 | 11:00 amEngineers are assessing systematic production methods that could make the costs of algae oil production more reasonable, helping move the U.S. from fossil fuel dependency to renewable energy replacements. -
Tiny Injector To Speed Development Of New, Safer, Cheaper Drugs
3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmEngineering researchers have fabricated a palm-sized, automated, micro-injector that can insert proteins, DNA and other biomolecules into individual cells at volumes exponentially higher than current procedures, and at a fraction of the cost. This will allow scientists to vastly increase preclinical trials for drug development and genetic engineering, and provide greater control of the process.
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Engineering Ethics Blog
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Toxic Drywall: All the Housing Market Needs
2 Nov 2009 | 4:22 amAs if Florida homeowners didn't have enough to worry about already since many of them are "under water" financially, a recent report I heard on National Public Radio revealed that many thousands of houses in Florida and at least six other states may have been built with toxic drywall imported from China. People living in these houses have reported many kinds of health problems, ranging from acute sinus infections to nosebleeds and insomnia. Besides the health hazards, anything made of copper in these houses tends to turn black and often fails. Think wiring, plumbing, and air conditioning… -
Effects of a News Media Fast
26 Oct 2009 | 4:00 amSince most news media nowadays are electronic in either their production, distribution, or delivery, and this blog is about engineering ethics, which relates to the right use of technology, including news media, I think the following personal reflection on a recent experience of mine falls within the greater ambit of what I'm trying to do here. Recently I had been feeling more than the usual amount of hassle and anxiety. Ever since I began teaching, fall semesters have always been more stressful than spring semesters, and for various reasons this one has been worse than usual. Of late I had… -
The Deep Corruption of State-Sponsored Gambling
19 Oct 2009 | 4:21 amLong-time readers of this blog (both of you) know that I am no friend of gambling. One way to express my stand succinctly is to place myself on a spectrum of opinion ranging from the pro-gambling extreme of no legal or moral restrictions at all, to the anti-gambling extreme of total prohibition root and branch, all the way down to the private Saturday-night poker game among friends. On a scale where 0 is total-pro and 100 is total-anti, I'm about 85. I see no reason to interfere with small-scale gambling among friends and acquaintances, but when gambling becomes a large-scale business from… -
Washington Metro Deaths: The Accident that Wasn't Supposed to Happen
12 Oct 2009 | 4:06 amOne of the things I like the most about visiting Washington, DC is its efficient, clean, and easy-to-use subway system. Whenever I need to visit Washington, I usually fly to the Baltimore-Washington Airport and then take public transportation from there. A car is a liability in Washington, as far as I'm concerned, because you can get to most places of importance on the subway. Washington's Metro is one of the newer of the nation's major public subways, having opened in 1976, and from the start it embodied computer-controlled systems of signaling and braking. So along with many other admirers… -
Microethics, Macroethics, and the Working Engineer
5 Oct 2009 | 4:39 amNormally, we don't deal much with ethical theory in this blog, but every so often it's worthwhile to look at the underpinnings of why we think about engineering ethics, and ways to think about it. A distinction that you may find helpful in sorting through engineering ethics questions is the difference between so-called "microethics" and "macroethics." You may have encountered the micro-macro distinction first in an introductory economics course. Microethics, you were told, deals with the individual decisions of householders or business owners with regard to pricing, buying, and selling things…
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ScienceAlert - Latest Stories
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Feature: Cyber sticks and stones
5 Nov 2009 | 8:14 amBullying via the internet, or 'cyber-bullying' is an elusive and dangerous game in which victim and victimiser are hard to immediately spot. -
Irradiated cancers stay down
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amIn a recent study, high-risk cancer patients who were given radiation therapy after surgery were less likely to have the cancer show up again. -
Horse genome sequenced
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amAn international team has mapped the horse genome, and it's already helping scientists understand horse breeds and health problems. -
Algae crop grows in salt
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amScientists have grown useful algae in open, saline ponds, creating a biofuel crop that thrives in Australia and doesn’t need fresh water. -
Stressed bacteria play it safe
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amResearchers have made bacteria evolve bet-hedging in the lab – they switch at random between forms that suit different conditions.
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Yanko Design
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Ten Way To Get Your Fix – Coffee Machines & Kettles
6 Nov 2009 | 2:58 amAs the winter sets in, more of us are going to be downing the liquid gold, just to keep out the chills. Coffee! A warm mug to curl your hands around, just as you watch the first snowflakes hit the ground. Here are Ten ways to get your fix; machines, coffee sets and kettles. I like mine instant coffee with milk and strong; how about you? 10) Birch-wood Coffee Set by Andrea Branzi Kicking off this countdown is an elegant silver and birch-wood coffee set designed by Andrea Branzi. Made from silver dipped in acid to get the rustic look, the set is quite a collector’s item. 9) Muji… -
Entire Vanity In A Strip
6 Nov 2009 | 12:59 amOn a recent trip out of town, I crammed into my suitcase this vanity bag containing soap, facewash, lotions, perfume, gels etc. In short a mini replica of my personal hygiene collection. Then again Murphy’s Law kicked in and the bottles of lotion and shampoo just burst open, soiling all my clothes! Wish I could have carried this “Wash One” pills instead. Tablets of hair, face, body wash and even toothpaste! Brilliant! Designer: Se Jun Lee -
YouRail Design Contest – Visions of modern transportation by Bombardier
6 Nov 2009 | 12:30 amIs publishing your contents on online design communities or hosting your own portfolio site enough for creative satisfaction? Don’t you want evaluation or recognition for your efforts? Much like how a post is done on YD, where we hear scores of you either trashing or praising a design, forcing the designers to re-think his strategy or go-ahead with his convictions. The Bombardier YouRail Design Contest by HYVE gives you instant feedback, allowing you to re-think your contribution or simply refining it. The contest is really simple, you only need to register, get inspired and submit your… -
Quatuor the Kitchen Annihilator!
6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 amWhat’s that? You want more organization in your kitchen? Well contrary to the title of this post, that’s what “Quatuor” is here to do! You’re in a hurry to create that perfect cake? Not to worry! Quatuor has your flour in a perfect proportion! Not only can in dispense both solid and liquid ingredients, it’s also got mystical magic charms cast on it! You can use the heck out of this at dinner time, lunch time, or party time! * Be creative, sensitive, and accurate with just such a device as this. The activation controls are still up in the air, perhaps a… -
Media Centers: Not Just for Nerds
6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 amLet me tell you what a media center is, first of all: it’s a computer. It’s a computer from which you have a bunch of cords and plugs and bluetooths and everything running into and out of so you can, from that one machine, run your whole media experience in your home. What have we got here? “Mod Systems’ GreenPlay” system from Samuel Hoang with Teague – a media center without all the keyboards and mice! A) Mod System’s GreenPlay software engages your main system with your “set top boxes” and storage units throughout the house for easy…
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Curiously Persistent
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Five predictions on the future of TV
3 Nov 2009 | 5:10 amScheduled broadcast television will always constitute the majority of viewing The majority of viewing will always be passive Simultaneous social media activity will remain niche – it will primarily be a substitute for when people aren’t physically in the room with you A form of modified Pareto principle will persist (maybe not 80% of viewing on 20% of channels, but 60% of viewing on 5% of channels is believable) Watching TV on a “computer” will peak in a few years – it will be doubly squeezed by web enabled “television” and “mobile”… -
Remove the zombies from research
19 Oct 2009 | 4:40 am“Bringing research to life”. Ick. There are over 20,000 results in Google for this horrible, horrible cliche. And it’s completely meaningless. Was the research dead beforehand? Have a couple of verbatim quotes and vox pop videos literally brought sentience to the project? Coming at it from the opposite angle, the expression is quite Stalinistic – “One death is a tragedy, but a million deaths are a statistic” But mainly, it is just an excuse for poor communicators unable to make data or research interesting, relevant or memorable. So, please, no more playing… -
Selective reporting
1 Oct 2009 | 4:16 pmI like the IAB. They’re nice people, and do good work. I’m even a member. But… Internet overtakes TV to become UK’s biggest ad sector ? No. As I pointed out this time last year, their reporting is a bit disingenuous (click through to see a nice chart – a product of my ability to devote greater time to blogging). The headline finding this year is that online represents 23.5% of all UK spending, whereas TV represents 21.9% However: Online conflates search, classified, display and email Press display and classified (conveniently separated) combined account for 29.5%… -
A guide to corporate blogging (beta)
30 Sep 2009 | 4:06 amWe’ve recently set up our Essential Research blog. It’s started well, albeit a little slowly. Go check it out. The main reason for the slow start is that we are currently crazy busy. However, a second reason is that the majority of us have never blogged before. And as those who have their own blog know, it is a little scary to begin with. What do I write about? Who will read it? What if it is rubbish? I’m quite happy with how this blog has evolved. But the number of blogs I’ve had is in double figures (I think), and it has taken me 6 or 7 years to get into a position… -
A second set of eyes
20 Sep 2009 | 4:53 amIn my last post, I attempted to make a few calculations around the return on conversation. Rather embarrassingly, I suffered a temporary mindfreeze regarding the definition of a percentage, and so my calculations were out by a factor of 100. This is my blog, and – unless I am directly linking to someone else – everything here is the work of me and me alone. This has its upsides and drawbacks. One of the obvious drawbacks is my idiosyncratic quality control. Sometimes I may dwell over a post and its formulation for an age, other times I will quickly bash something out without due…
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Technology Review RSS Feeds
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Blog - Spots 'n' pimples
6 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pmThe best of the rest from the physics arXiv this week -
Blog - Computer-Predicted Catalysis
6 Nov 2009 | 10:30 amTwo computer programs accurately predict how molecules interact with metals -
Blog - U.S. Congress Considers Geoengineering
6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amPlans to purposefully re-engineer the world's climate got their first serious committee hearing yesterday. -
Blog - Absent-minded Robots Remember What Matters
6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amRobots could mimic human forgetfulness to filter out less useful information. -
Blog - Waiter, Is There a Fungicide in My Soup?
6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 amScientists in Canada have developed dipstick that measures levels of pesticides in food and beverages.
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Think Differently!!
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Think Quick
29 Oct 2009 | 8:21 amMany people in the organisational development community in Melbourne, Australia will know Frank Connolly from his excellent work as coordinator for the Victorian Public Sector Continuous Improvement Network (VPS CIN) over the last several years.Frank has started a new initiative, and central to these efforts is his new Think Quick blog.Good luck Frank with your new initiative and helping people 'Think Quick'! -
Rethinking Economics
23 Oct 2009 | 6:56 pmAs someone who received his Ph.D from an Economics Department (but who in no way considers himself an economist!), I continue to watch with interest how the recent Global Financial Crisis is continuing to cause a rethink of the economics profession. A major focus of current interest was one of the subjects of my thesis: economists' excessive reliance on mathematics, regardless of the validity of the assumptions used by the mathematical models. Economists' assumptions for their mathematical modelling are typically things like "assume that people have infinite knowledge of the past, present,… -
Organisational Fairy Tales
13 Oct 2009 | 10:39 pmI was recently given a review copy of Andrew Rixon's new book, Opening Up: Creative Storytelling at Work. Andrew is an expert in applying complexity theory and storytelling within organisations to facilitate consensus and change.One of the intriguing contributions of this book is Andrew's idea of organisational fairy tales. By constructing a fairy tale around the issue or problem we wish to describe or address, we can liberate ourselves to talk about the issue in a different and more mythic way. The twist, however, comes when the facilitator asks the audience hearing a fairy tale constructed… -
Snorklers and Divers
13 Oct 2009 | 3:35 pmI was speaking with Experiential Marketing expert and consultant Justine Haddrick recently regarding the idea of scanners vs. deep divers. Justine mentioned that in their work responding to requests for information from clients, Justine and her team had developed a convention of asking whether someone requesting work was a snorkler - someone looking for an overview of options floating over them at a relatively high level - or a diver- someone wanting depth of insight and expertise regarding their very specific problem in the response. It's important to tailor our responses to the needs of the… -
Sean Richardson on the 10% Rule
8 Oct 2009 | 2:33 amI was speaking with sports psychologist and high performance coach Sean Richardson today about the 10% rule. Sean is an expert in sustaining physical and mental well being while performing at peak levels.Sean mentioned the additional dimension that there is a phenomenon in sports psychology called periodisation - athletes can sustain peak workloads for 3 to 3 1/2 weeks. After this time they need a week of reduced volume and intensity of work and and an increase in activities that promote recovery. This period of recovery is required for athletes to recover physically and emotionally, and is…
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IRIN
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GUINEA: Political crisis only sharpens daily hardship
DAKAR, 6 November 2009 (IRIN) - Even when Guinea is not facing political crisis and reeling from a massacre, daily life is gruelling for many and instability is never far away. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in a September 2009 report says Guinea is “volatile” due to a combination of sharp economic decline; widespread and chronic poverty; limited access to basic services like health, water and sanitation; and persistent political instability. -
LESOTHO: A mountain of challenges
JOHANNESBURG, 6 November 2009 (IRIN) - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been feeding people in Lesotho since 1965, yet the tiny mountain kingdom is still not much closer to achieving food self-sufficiency. Time to overhaul the approach, aid agencies say. -
SOMALIA: Donor caution alarms aid workers
NAIROBI, 6 November 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies operating in Somalia say they need more money but that some donors are holding back, concerned at where resources might end up in areas too dangerous for international staff. -
LAOS: Grandmother Khamsone, “The spirits don’t want to be here”
NAKAI PLATEAU, 6 November 2009 (IRIN) - Over 6,000 people have been resettled to make way for a controversial dam in central Laos: The Nam Theun 2 Dam, the country's single largest infrastructure project, will produce electricity for Thailand, and domestically. -
MAURITANIA: Don’t abandon us, HIV-positive community tells donors
NOUAKCHOTT, 5 November 2009 (IRIN) - People living with HIV in Mauritania are voicing their concerns about the suspension of HIV/AIDS funding by the World Bank and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. They feel powerless in the face of the decisions, of which they are suffering the consequences.
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NPR: Pop Culture
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Joe Jackson Seeks Slice Of Son Michael's Millions
6 Nov 2009 | 4:18 pmMichael Jackson's father is seeking an allowance from his son's estate to help cover expenses that exceed $15,000 a month, according to court documents filed Friday. The entertainer's 2002 will made no reference to his father, with whom he had an often strained relationship.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us -
Come And Play: 'Sesame Street' Celebrates 40 Years
6 Nov 2009 | 12:39 pmFour decades after its premiere, Sesame Street is the same happy neighborhood it always was. TV critic David Bianculli takes a look at the newest episode — which features special guest Michelle Obama — and assesses the show's enduring legacy.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us -
The Man Behind Miss Piggy
6 Nov 2009 | 7:22 amFilm director Frank Oz was one of the defining creative forces behind the Muppets. He joined The Muppet Show creator Jim Henson in 1963 and went on to provide the voices of Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster, Fozzie Bear and Bert.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us -
Liz Taylor: A Leading Lady For Life
5 Nov 2009 | 10:39 amFrom her multiple marriages to her diamond collecting, a new biography by William Mann — aptly titled How to Be a Movie Star — details the dramatic life of one of Hollywood's all-time leading ladies. "Elizabeth always loved living large, and it served her very well," he says.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us -
Emoticon Inventor Marks Web's Birthday With A :-)
5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 amOctober 29th marked the 40th anniversary of the Internet. We'll talk with Scott Fahlman, the computer researcher who invented the virtual smiley face, about how emoticons and abbreviations have changed electronic communication.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
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Alternative Medicine Zone
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Curative Magnetism And Human Temper
6 Nov 2009 | 4:43 amMagnet therapy is used all over the world to help cure disease and comfort pain and suffering. It works on the simple principle that the earth on which we live is governed by magnetic poles. The magnetic energies affect all living things. When the magnetic balance is altered or suffers major changes and disease or ailments occur to the human body, the curative magnets can be used to restore the equilibrium. Permanent magnets are used to activate the magnetic energies in the body and they work to bring back harmony inside the body. When the energy levels are balanced and the body is in… -
Hypnosis To Cure Children’s Anxiety
4 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amHypnosis, an altered state of consciousness, can help cure children’s anxieties. A trained therapist can help a child undergo hypnosis in order to control or get rid of fears and other conditions. Many children today suffer from anxieties and stress placed upon them from a world that is bigger than they are. This frightening world is only compounded when images from television and other media creep into a child’s imagination. Much of the fear and tension a child goes through comes from normal, everyday things that may have been made bigger than life or that has hurt them. A few… -
The Benefits Of Using Su Jok Therapy
2 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amSu Jok Therapy is considered to be advancement in the therapy world of acupuncture. This South Korean therapy involves acupressure as well. Su Jok Therapy is so effective that most often the use of needles isn’t required in order to bring the relief from pain. The health problem is taken care of, by just simply applying pressure to corresponding points on the hands and feet. The object of Su Jok Therapy is to balance the imbalanced energy in the body, the tissue, the cells and the organs. This therapy was developed by a South Korean professor named Park Jae Woo. He is a scientist and… -
Light As Medicine Against Depression
30 Oct 2009 | 5:30 amThe living organism cannot exist without light. Only in the presence of light do the plants accomplish photosynthesis and the human body synthesize the Vitamin D, essential component for the calcium retention in the bones. The light not only that sustains life but it can also heal. The recent studies have shown that the depression, especially the one related to the cold season, can be treated by daily exposure to the white light. The light therapy is administrated usually through a certain device called light box, a metallic structure containing a tube of fluorescent light put behind a… -
Tantric Meditation Helps Sexual Problems
28 Oct 2009 | 5:30 amEveryone has heard of tantric meditation and that it also has a sexual aspect to it as well. Tantric meditation has yoga influences. You meditate as with other meditation techniques by sitting peacefully and calmly, easing your mind and ridding yourself of thoughts. The meditation is supposed to relax, renew and awaken the person’s spirit and body. Because of the meditation, people who perform it find that they have less sexual problems. The Chinese Tao philosophy also has a branch where Taoist spiritual sexuality uses some of tantric teachings. The Taoist philosophy concentrates on the…
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Serene Ambition
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Giving Up 'Giving Up'
5 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pmBy Jim Selman | Bio My partner and I were recently enjoying one of those lazy weekend mornings just chatting about life in general when we got onto the subject of getting older and how we feel about it all. I made the point that my passion and The Eldering Institute® is about transforming our culture’s view of aging and teaching people that we can change how we relate to the future—and, as a consequence, we can have more choices, more possibility and more ‘aliveness’ than what most people can expect as they grow older. Moreover, I reasoned, once people are empowered as they… -
Ageism 2009
1 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pmBy Jim Selman | Bio There is nothing new about ageism, other than the fact that there are increasing numbers of people growing older (which means increasing numbers of examples of age discrimination against older people). The latest statistics from AARP show formal anti-discrimination complaints are up roughly 30% in the workplace. I had some fun with this in my recent blog, proposing we create the National Organization of Pissed-Off Elders (N.O.P.E.). However, it isn’t a laughing matter when we see a potentially tragic problem growing in our society that can be prevented. -
Harold's Story - Part 3
29 Oct 2009 | 9:01 pmBy Stuart J. Whitley | Bio I read somewhere that good decision-making—indeed, good relations—depends upon a virtuous cycle of respect, trust and candour (which takes some time to establish, but which can easily be interrupted). Attitude, after all, is everything. Perhaps that last statement needs a bit of refinement: the ethical attitude is everything. By that I mean the determination of the answer to the age-old question: who is right? Was Harold right to -
Harold's Story - Part 2
28 Oct 2009 | 9:01 pmBy Stuart J. Whitley | Bio Einstein is supposed to have said that the most important decision we ever make is whether the world is a good place or a bad place. I don’t believe that we consciously make that decision—we are taught to believe it, one way or the other, and the most difficult lesson of all to unlearn is that we live in a hostile universe. There are just too many confirmatory events that tend to erode our courage to think differently. Current strategies in -
Harold' Story - Part 1
27 Oct 2009 | 9:01 pmBy Stuart J. Whitley | BioI had lunch with an old friend, a Tlingit elder, Harold, today. I’ve known Harold for nearly a dozen years. And I know him to be a serious, thoughtful man; he’s someone who has taught me many things, not the least of which was the powerful consequence of even the smallest positive intervention in someone’s life. I have seen it in action: Harold is the embodiment of Emerson’s dictum that
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W5 Blog
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Twitter Lists
3 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pmIn the last week, all Twitter users were given the Twitter List functionality. What are they? On the surface lists look like an extension of what Twitter already does, essentially giving the user more timelines. In reality, the simple add on has a lot of uses, including: The ability to de-clutter and organize those you’re following The ability to get updates without having to follow someone in your main stream A great way to see what others are doing and find new people In a sense, this move has made Twitter more useful and immediate. It gives the user the ability to switch views from… -
Long Live Halloween
30 Oct 2009 | 7:01 amHalloween in Chapel Hill has historically drawn huge crowds, sexy costumes, and drunken debauchery to Franklin Street. In 2007, nearly 80,000 people showed up to partake in the festivities. However, due to fears of crime, alcohol poising and gang-related violence, that number declined last year to 35,000. From the look of things, falling numbers threaten the Chapel Hill Halloween tradition again this year. The number of bodies on Franklin Street is not the only thing declining. According to MPR, Americans are expected to spend 15% less on Halloween than last year due to the poor economy. -
Retro Commercial of the Week – Halloween Edition
30 Oct 2009 | 6:43 amTagged: advertising, commercial, halloween, holiday, mcdonalds, retro, retro commercial, trick or treat -
The Internet Writing Renaissance
27 Oct 2009 | 6:34 amAs far as I can tell the two most common Twitter complaints from non-adopters are as follows: 1.) “What’s the point?” and 2.) “I don’t have anything to say.” I agree with both to some extent. Most updates on the site tend toward the banal. However, what’s fascinating about Twitter is not what Twitterers (Twits? Twitfolk?) are writing about, but the fact they are indeed writing. As it turns out, we are in the middle of a writing renaissance. The internet has had an effect on authorship that, with regard to bringing the written word to a mass audience, surpasses that of the… -
Recap on Planningness
23 Oct 2009 | 7:36 amSo I’m back at my desk and finally dug out from my whirlwind week that included two great days at Planningness. I didn’t go to all of the sessions, but really enjoyed the ones I did go to, including: Jason Oke and Gareth Kay’s talk on Connections Planning Grant McCracken on Bringing Culture into Corporations Ken Eklund’s discussion of games Garry Tan of Posterous and the bonus session of Joe Lambert from the Center for Digital Story Telling The decks and videos from the even are available on the Planningness website. Also, for some of the reactions and a recap via…
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Holy Experience
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weekend wanderings: fun with the kids
6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm~ A free customizable - printable chorechart for kids (and it doesn't say "chores" -- it says how one "contributes" to family. Beautiful!)~ organization of art supplies -- home-education inspiration (I recollect you can buy those galvanized buckets at Ikea?)~a Thanksgiving Centerpiece(Child-Made, God-Glorifying, Easily-Beautiful!)~ Instantly Preserved Leaves -- Wax them! (Oh, can we do this too? A walk first... and then a dipping into wax... and then string the colored garlands. Might be a way to hunt for beauty this weekend?)May you enjoy the beautiful people you are spending your weekend… -
How do Christians Seek Beauty?
6 Nov 2009 | 1:30 amThe cold came for the color, drained summer brown, and the furniture vases, they’re open mouths, waiting for petals and I go looking for beauty in November.And when I fill them with tassels of broom corn from the garden, stalks grown from heritage seeds of the Shakers at Pleasant Hill, I trim each woody stalk and think how seeing beauty in the obvious and apparent isn’t perhaps really seeking at all.The Real Words read: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” and my thoughts line up like an echo:“For if you find beauty… -
Beauty Challenge: Seeing Through
5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amReframing the mess, seeing through to the Real.......He rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~Heb. 11:6Lord, when I seek... when I seek. The Beauty of You... You. This week: Beauty Challenge #1 ::: Beauty Challenge #2Photos: seeing through to the Beauty of GodShare your thoughts?...Would you like Holy Experience delivered to you quietly via email?... -
Eating Bread: The One Habit that's Most Changed Us
3 Nov 2009 | 10:54 pm(You were asking? Several notes to the inbox with questions, so a revisitation on how our family quietly eats this book...)Words are always dessert.I was sixteen when I first I ate dinner at his house and when the plates were cleaned, forks laid down, when it'd seem commonplace to nod thanks to the cook and push back the chairs, his family bowed their heads and his Father opened a Bible, thick and tattered, a multitude of bookmarks sticking out from all the pages and he read a chapter of Scripture in an even thicker Dutch accent. Chapter finished, he'd close the book, look around the table,… -
The Beauty Challenge: Beauty Inspiration
3 Nov 2009 | 4:29 amIn the space of a few days, oldest son breaks his right arm working in the barn, youngest son twists his left ankle on trampoline, and the sunflowers droop brown and heavy in the garden, blooms withered. We elevate and medicate and supplicate, and yes, there are tears. November winds blow and it rains.Do I have eyes audacious enough to see beauty, courage to declare the lovely in days that wail of the ugly, the boldness to fill the hollowed out places with surprising grace?The true artist enters into work of Father and makes the ordinary material of the world new. Inspired to pick the common…
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Blue Ocean Strategy | Gabor George Burt on Creating Blue Ocean Strategy
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Is the fashion industry going out of style?
5 Nov 2009 | 2:10 am“There’s no such thing as a permanently great company or a permanently great industry. All industries rise and fall as do companies. However, there are permanently smart strategic moves” — W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne, from Chief Executive magazine article “Flouting Conventional Wisdom” (May 2003). A key quality industries and companies should strive for is adaptability, always scanning and acting upon broad market opportunities. All industries and companies face difficult or life-threatening challenges at one point or another, and it is their adaptability and ability to… -
Red Ocean turbulence ahead
3 Nov 2009 | 11:34 pmDespite the potential upswing of the global economy – there is still great uncertainty and tension in the air. So to inject a much needed layer of levity, our “Global Recovery Comic Angle” series presents satirical articles of different industries during this period. Today we showcase ‘Awful Airlines,’ an editorial cartoon roundup by Daryl Cagle depicting the trials and tribulations of air travel.View the entire slideshow here.[Image via MSNBC.] -
The Four Steps of Visualizing Strategy: Step One — Visual Awakening
2 Nov 2009 | 5:26 amContinuing with weekly insights on Blue Ocean Strategy fundamentals, we advance to the Strategy Canvas. This visual process has four steps. Today we focus on the first step — Visual Awakening, which, along with each step to follow, will be made accessible through the Blue Ocean Strategy Basics archive. For the first step in visualizing strategy, we turn to pages 84 - 85 of the book Blue Ocean Strategy (co-authored by Professor W. Chan Kim and Professor Renée Mauborgne):A common mistake is to discuss changes in strategy before resolving differences of opinion about the current state… -
Let’s Get Academic – Part 2
29 Oct 2009 | 5:58 amIn the September issue of Fast Company, Editor Robert Safian posed challenging questions about the state of higher education, and the best model for the future. With the average annual cost of attending a private four-year college rising nearly 4% to US$ 32,307 this school year — the biggest increase since 2001 — academia is ripe for Blue Ocean Strategy-based thinking and solutions. Yesterday we promised our readers the eagerly-awaited solution proposed by Gabor to the challenge raised by Robert Safian in Fast Company’s “Letter from the Editor: Lessons of the Edupunks.” … -
Let’s Get Academic: Blue Ocean Strategy for higher education
28 Oct 2009 | 2:30 amIn the September issue of Fast Company, Editor Robert Safian posed challenging questions about the state of higher education, and the best model for the future. With the average annual cost of attending a private four-year college rising nearly 4% to US$ 32,307 this school year — the biggest increase since 2001 — academia could definitely benefit from Blue Ocean Strategy-based thinking and solutions. In “Letter from the Editor: Lessons of the Edupunks” Mr. Safian poses the following questions: If you were starting a system of higher education from scratch today, would you still…
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The Bonsai Blog of Hans van Meer
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SUDGE A SHAME.
6 Nov 2009 | 5:11 pmHi everybody, I wright this with a sad heart. Because tomorrow the next, by now legendary residential “BURRS” Bonsai weekend will start and I wound be there this time! My recovery after my back operation will take a lot longer than the 3 weeks I had hoped for! So about a week ago I had to tell my dear friend Tony Tickle, who organises this unique happening every year, that I would not be able to come and work with my, by now, dear Bonsai friends! Tony, being the good friend he is, was more worried about my health and understood completely that it would be irresponsible for… -
THE JOY OF BONSAI 2010.
3 Nov 2009 | 5:21 amHi everybody, I would like to bring your attention to a truly unique Bonsai event “The Joy of Bonsai 2010″. This Bonsai extravaganza will be again staged in the Bath pavilion in the truly beautiful city of Bath in the U.K. I am again very proud to be invited to be a part of the many international demonstrators that will show their magic during this 2 day Bonsai weekend. If you take a look at the flyer below you can see just how many talent will be there to watch and ask questions. Because at “The Joy of Bonsai” you can walk around every demonstrator, so you will… -
JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW..
30 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pmHi everybody, yes I am still here, dont worry! It now has been just over 2 weeks since I had my lower back surgery. I am still recovering and dont know yet if the operation has been successful, that might still take a wile. But I have good hopes and strong painkillers, so who is complaining. I am not able to get any real bonsai work don, YET! But I did managed to get a nice picture of one of my small Blackthorns with it’s last lovely yellow autumn color. Hope you like it? And as soon as I get some work don , I will let you all know! Cheers, Hans. -
SOME OLD PICTURES OF 2 AMAZING STONES.
6 Oct 2009 | 5:49 pmHi everybody, wile looking trough some more old pictures to scan and use in my new Bonsai stories, I came across some pictures that I shot during my ‘95 trip to Milan Italy. To, among other things, see Kimura preform there on stage for 2 days. Seeing those stones on these old pictures again, gave me the same feeling as when I saw them for the first time all those years ago. AMAZING! I hope you enjoy them to? This one I would like to call: OOPS! -
AUTUMN GREETINGS FROM HOLLAND.
3 Oct 2009 | 4:57 amHi everybody, this memorable warm and long Summer has finally reached it’s end here in Holland. The lovely mushrooms that surround the base of my old Pinus parviflora are the first sign of the approaching Winter. Cheers, Hans van Meer.
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Bonsai Bark Bonsai Blog
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Eccentric Bonsai #4: A Very Long Cascade
6 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pmWe found this exceptionally long cascading ficus (at least that’s what we think it is) on the Bonsai South website. Take a look if you get a chance. They have an excellent gallery with a range of powerful tropicals (see below) and a some other worthy trees. It’s not that easy It’s not easy to keep the lower lower reaches healthy on such a long cascading branch. Especially on a tree that basically wants to grow upward. You’ll notice the untrained small branches at the very bottom. Letting those small sacrifice branches grow unimpeded helps draw energy down to the tip. -
500,000 Cuts, All Beat Up & Still Cutting
5 Nov 2009 | 2:35 amThese well worn Okatsune bypass shears belong to Greg McNally and Tune Faulkner of Fall Brook Tree Farm in Wheelock Vermont. Tune uses hers all year, but most intensively before the holidays when she makes wreaths. She makes thousands of cuts a day when she’s going strong and has been using the same shears for years. We came up with 500,00 cuts, but suspect it could easily be twice that. This photo and the next one are by Amy Palmer. Bonsai and other uses I use my Okatsunes (the 8″ ones, some people prefer the 7″) in my garden and on my field grown bonsai, and sometimes for… -
Japanese Bonsai: Small Is Powerful
3 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pmThis powerful kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the Culture Minister’s Prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair (has anyone out there heard of this fair?). It is 19″ (48cm) high and about 55 years old. It is owned by Toyoyuki Hamabata from Takamatsu’s Mure town in Shikoku. It appears at Bonsai World, an English language website from Shikoku Japan. Bonsai World’s comments Here’s what bonsai world has to say about this tree: This kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) tree is relatively young. Its ”nebari” root spread is good and it stands up… -
Pruning Deciduous Bonsai #2: Chinese Elm
2 Nov 2009 | 1:43 amThis is the second in our series on pruning deciduous bonsai. Like the previous one (beech), these illustrations are simple and easy to follow, and could apply to most other deciduous trees with alternate leaves. The illustrations are from Bonsai Today issue 41. A couple small points The branch where it says strong branches that are too long, could also be faulted for being too straight. Where it says branches that curve unnaturally it could say any unsightly branch (eg branches that have reverse taper or the have abrupt jagged angles). Just bear in mind most conventions and rules are made to… -
Eccentric Bonsai #3 & Contest #8
31 Oct 2009 | 4:00 pmI won’t say where juniper (looks like a shimpaku) bonsai came from, but will say why we choose it as an eccentric bonsai (see below) after an apology for it being slightly out of focus (it was enlarged a tad too much so it would fit our format). The contest: win a $25 gift certificate to Stone Lantern The first person to tell us whose tree this is and where we can verify that, will win a $25 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. Please put your answer in the comments below. Eccentric? I realize that eccentric is in the bleary eye of the beholder, and certainly mean no offense to the…
